I’m a recruitment consultant on £25k a year. Do I need to wait until I find a partner before I can buy a house?

Welcome to Money Matters: GLAMOUR’s weekly dive into the world of finance. We’re chatting all things personal finance, from contracting rights in the workplace to expert mortgage advice and saving for your first home, to ISAs and dealing with debt, to help empower you to make better choices. Now more than ever it’s important to understand our money, but so many of us feel as if we don’t have a handle on it – or worse, feel anxious and scared about money. 

So each week, a woman in a unique situation will give us an honest breakdown of her finances, and our expert will tell her easy tips on exactly how to tackle it. So, take a seat, and let’s talk about money…

Anita is a 31-year-old single woman who lives in London. She currently works as a recruitment consultant on roughly £1600 a month after tax and plus her quarterly commission.

She is currently renting a studio apartment but would desperately prefer to buy her own place. She wants to know how she can use her quarterly commission to realise this goal. Most mortgage providers only consider half her commission, which drastically reduces the mortgages she can apply for. 

Anita says, “It’s so difficult being a single woman trying to do this by yourself”

Here, she shares her money diary…

MY ACCOUNTS

Current account: £7500
Savings account: £1500

MY INCOMINGS

Annual salary pre-tax: £25,000
Annual salary post-tax: £20,511
Monthly wage pre-tax: £1950
Monthly wage post-tax: £1600
Other incoming payments: £5000

MY OUTGOINGS

Rent/mortgage: £830
Bills: £70
Splurges: £200
Other: £100
Any student loan/credit cards/overdrafts etc: I have recently cleared all my credit card debt with my last commission payment. I have no other debts. 

MY MONEY THOUGHTS

My worst money habit: I would say food spending including groceries and takeaways. I live in an area where everything is available all the time, whereas I grew up in the middle of nowhere so think I’m living my childhood fantasies!
My biggest money worry: Not being able to own my own home by myself. I don’t want to have to wait to find a partner to do this. 
My financial hopes for the future: I am applying for a promotion and hoping to get my commission increased as I have expressed my worth and what I want to achieve to my boss. I just want to be really financially secure and not caught off guard by bills making me dip into my savings or have to think twice or always look for the cheapest option when buying a flight to see my family.
Current money mood: ????????????

Single problems It’s one of the biggest injustices of the mortgage market; unless you’re coupled up, an investment banker or a trust fund kid, the reality is: buying a flat is going to be hard. There’s a very real and understandable pain in watching friends in relationships zip past you in the fast lane to home-ownership. Let me talk you through your options…

Find a specialist: To answer your question on commission, the key here to get advice from a mortgage broker who specialises self-employment/less conventional working arrangements. They will know which lenders to approach and how to maximise the amount you can borrow. There are lenders out there who will consider all of your income when calculating affordability but similar to a self-employed mortgage, you might need to demonstrate that you’ve earned that commission for at least two-three years before they will consider it, others may be happy with 12 months. This mortgage broker has a guide with lots more details.